Carrick insists Manchester United are manageable as winless run stretches to seven matches

Michael Carrick rejected suggestions that Manchester United are an unmanageable club at a press conference ahead of Sunday’s home fixture against Bournemouth, as the Red Devils’ winless run in all competitions stretched to seven matches — their worst such sequence since 2015.

The run was extended on Wednesday when United were beaten 4-1 by Como, a result that arrived just days after Carrick had described a point at Leeds as a “fresh start”. United have won just two of their 11 matches this season.

“No, no,” was Carrick’s blunt response when asked whether the club had become unmanageable. He had opened the same press conference with an impassioned five-and-a-half-minute monologue drawing on the club’s history before fielding questions that were, at times, visibly testing.

On his trust in the playing squad, Carrick was unequivocal. “I definitely trust them, yeah, 100 per cent I trust them. It wasn’t a very good night at all for so many reasons. We all know that. I think that’s pretty obvious. We’ll be a different team on Sunday. We have to be a different team on Sunday.”

The mood inside the club has been further soured by public dissent from within the squad. Lisandro Martinez was disciplined after publicly criticising the club hierarchy following the defeat to Atletico Madrid, while captain Bruno Fernandes appeared to question Carrick’s approach in the aftermath of the Como loss. Former United striker Wayne Rooney publicly lambasted both players, accusing them of acting like “babies” as concerns over the club’s culture continue to grow.

Carrick, who was appointed as Ruben Amorim’s successor in January and guided the club to a third-place finish last season, acknowledged he remains in regular contact with two of his predecessors in the Old Trafford dugout. “I speak to both of them quite regularly, to be honest,” he said, referring to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — whom he narrowly beat to the permanent role — and another former manager. “I’m close to both of them and we do have regular conversations, so it’s nothing different this week.”

The pressure on Carrick is mounting rapidly. A home fixture against Bournemouth now carries the weight of a must-win, with patience among supporters and the board alike appearing to wear thin.